The Good Within You is GOD. - Gita Chandra Ravi

(This blog is 22nd and the last of a long series of profiles on friends and acquaintances I have met in my life journey. I invited them to share my spot because I believe in synergy, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We are parts of the whole, and together we are indeed great!)

The first time I saw Gita Ravi’s artworks in our Hay House Facebook group page, I was enthralled. I ordered one of her paintings, and then another. And of course, my curiosity was aroused. Who is this woman with a unique kind of art? I emailed her some questions and she answered me in her lovely handwriting. See for yourself how wonderful Gita is!

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Dot: Please tell me about yourself and your passion or advocacy. What motivates you?

Gita: My name is Gita Chandra. I am an Indian, raised in a cosmopolitan city called Mumbai (which was previously called Bombay). I grew up with three more siblings and dogs. I started my career in Fashion. It was a divine orchestration. Fashion has many different categories. I started working with surface ornamentation, which is mostly handmade embroideries. I worked from an entry level intern to become a chief designer. I have to say, I loved my work. I must have been the only one arriving early and leaving late. Loved by my co-workers and my bosses, I did very well in the field of embroidery.

A bit about my past… As a child, I suffered from an almost blind vision. It made me absolutely sad because I was bullied or ignored at school. My eyes couldn’t really catch what the teacher wrote on the board. But being blind means I opened my other senses. So, I heard everything very carefully. I illustrated more than write. I was always very passionate about art. Something in me would just kick in and weird patterns and ideas would start pouring in.

My passion for art is a gift from above. I don’t have to refer to any color wheel or learn color mixing. I do everything very intuitively. I am a self-taught artist. Self-taught artists gain a lot by making lots of errors. And errors guide you in the right directions.

  

My motivation comes from MYSELF. I motivate myself - funny? What I realized is - true motivation comes from within and we create magic. When the motivation is outsourced, it has a small life. Motivation is key to self-growth. I believe in being consistent in everything I do. Consistency, motivation (inner), and my practice are three pillars I build for myself.


Dot: What esoteric or spiritual lessons have you learned?

Gita: Being almost blind, ridiculed, and bullied, a girl child can feel extremely vulnerable, sad, and a failure. And I felt it. I felt failed. I felt depressed. But each day, I have worked on nourishing my soul. My other world consists of trees, animals, happy clouds. My ever present angels, my paints, my canvases, birds, butterflies, winds, sun – all are part of me. They are truly part of me. Birds bring me messages and great joy. Trees are always so beautiful, the branches, the sky… I think my spiritual nourishment comes from BEING KIND.

After I moved to the USA, I had more time for myself. I was introduced to the Law of Attraction, Wayne Dyer, and many more spiritual leaders and motivational speakers. My journey became easier after I found Hay House radio. It felt as though I am with a million more people who are loving life in spite of hurdles. And it inspires me to see people overcome their hurdles. The Law of Attraction keeps me in good spirits. It helps me make everyday choices. It has helped me in every area of my life.


Dot: What positive lessons did you learn from your parents that you want to pass on to your children?

Gita: My parents are beautiful souls, relentlessly dreaming about their kids, having tea in their garden. My mom is a leader with “no” title. She’s just a mom, a beautiful person who raised four kids and many animals. My mom taught me to “FEEL.” She taught me to “BLOOM” wherever I am. Kindest person I’ve seen so far.

My dad is a feisty old man. He taught me a great lesson: SEE GOOD IN EVERYTHING, EVERY SITUATION. Life is fleeting; take time to do things you love.


Dot: What are your top wins in life?

Gita: a) My positive attitude gets me everywhere. I became a mother at age 39 – a big achievement.
b) I have met “1,000” people in my life. All “1,000” are still my friends – school friends from kindergarten to friends at work - all are with me. Pat my back, no one forgets me!
c) I couldn’t speak well till age 14. I taught myself many languages.
d) I don’t have health issues other than my eyesight. But, it’s getting better, too. Positive thinking.
e) Every time I paint, I paint my heart. It’s a poem of love on the paper. It’s a gift; lucky I feel.
f) I stopped reacting to people’s feelings about my art. I think that’s a big win. Earlier, I used to think about my audience. Now, I am a bird who sings his song without knowing who’s watching or listening. Freedom means everything.


Dot: What beautiful changes do you see in the world now?

Gita: Dr. Wayne Dyer said, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” So true. I am a work in progress but this quote from Dr. Dyer always keeps my perspective in life very clear. It helps me to pivot my focus and see everything differently.


Dot: How do you take care of yourself?

Gita: Everything falls into place when I am well-rested, so I do take time to nap in the afternoons. It’s a family tradition to nap. J I take time to simply “BE.” And I try to eat the healthiest food whenever I can.


Dot: What messages do you have for this world?

Gita: a) Please protect our Earth. Inform the little ones to protect this planet.
b) Stay with your dreams. Dreams come true.
c) Whatever the obstacle, we can overcome them.
d) Keep it simple.
e) Remind everyone to watch the sunset, hug a tree, smell the flowers.
f) Radiate GOD.
g) GOD is within you. The good within you is GOD. There is one religion. That religion is LOVE. Anything that is not love is resistance, and resistance creates fear.
h) LOVE the world, love yourself. Let Love be your guide.

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Gita Chandra can be reached through her email gitaravi@gmail.com, website gitaravi.com, and Instagram Gita Ravi.

Don’t Just Ask Why. Shout: Why The Hell Not?! - Rhodora Espinosa-Kahny

(This blog is 21st of a long series of profiles on friends and acquaintances I have met in my life journey. I invited them to share my spot because I believe in synergy, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We are parts of the whole, and together we are indeed great!)

(Created by Rhods Solis via Prisma)

In my May 23, 2017 blog, I referred to my English professor who got me into pen pal writing. We have remained in contact with each other after all these years, and her impact on me is so big that I am ‘enrolled’ in her current platform, Woods and Books. Here she is now, teaching very young children, still passionate about making connections, still vibrant and relevant, and still very dear to me… Rhodora Espinosa Kahny, or ‘Doray’ to friends and family.

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Dot: Please tell me a little bit about yourself and your passion or advocacy. What motivates you to pursue your advocacy?

Rhodora: I teach children and believe in the transformational power of nature, stories, and the written word. So, with the support of family and friends, I set up our non-profit organization, Woods and Books, which promotes nature and literature for children in Iloilo City, Philippines, with the ultimate goal of building a children’s library—with a garden of native fruit trees, flowers, and herbs around it.

What motivates me? My own experience as a child growing up in a Philippine suburb, and then, as an adult, living and working in other countries. I attribute much of what I am now to what I’ve learned through observation, through reading, and through experience. What else motivates me? The thought that in Iloilo City, a thriving urban center of around half a million, there is no library that adequately serves children.


Dot: So far, what great spiritual or esoteric lessons have you learned?

Rhodora: Lesson 1: Children are amazing learning beings.

Lesson 2: Adults control much of what children can and cannot do, what they can and cannot have, what they can and cannot hope for, and have systematically, selfishly, or thoughtlessly lessened opportunities for children to discover and enjoy nature in all its wild and wondrous forms.

Lesson 3: It’s been said that literacy is key to growth and development. I believe that literacy—in as many languages as one is able to acquire and master—is also key to understanding one’s self and others.


Dot: What are the best positive lessons you learned from your parents that you want to pass on to younger children?

Rhodora: Be honest, even when no one is looking. Be true to yourself, even when everyone is watching. There is a God, even when you think He’s sleeping on the job—trust Him when all else fails. You carry the Philippine flag wherever you go just by virtue of you being a Filipino; say and do things that make the country proud. You are put in this world to make things better for others.


Dot: And your top 3 successes in life?

Rhodora: I have remained idealistic despite knowing, witnessing, and experiencing how difficult it can be. I love what I do. I love and am loved.


Dot: Who are your role models? What makes them your role models?

Rhodora: This has always been tough for me—pointing to people who’ve had such an impact on me that I’ve patterned my life and made choices with them in mind. I can’t point to anyone in particular because there have been many—and because not all that move me are people:

My parents—for their faithful, steadfast love for each other; my family and friends—for always keeping that safety net open, letting me cuddle when I need nurturing, and catching me when I fall; rock and roll—for at once being funny, farcical, inane, subversive, satirical, revolutionary, incendiary, trite, political, personal, and profound; the human mind, nature, and the cosmos—for providing proof that we are part of the bigger picture and must work for the greater good; writers, artists, public restroom cleaners, astronauts, farmers, scientists, Vikings, saints and martyrs, infants, whales, Holocaust survivors, refugees, immigrants, cloistered nuns and quiet monks, sequoias, native peoples, herbolarios, veterans, manoglab-as and just about everyone and every creature that has a story to tell. How can we not be inspired by them?


Dot: Please talk about the beautiful changes you are seeing in the world now.

Rhodora: Science is finally catching up to the concept that some things we thought were fact are not, while other things that we thought were fancy are fact. I point to Pluto demoted to a being a dwarf planet and Higgs Boson, the so-called “God particle,” the name which the editors of the book came up with because they didn’t want the scientists calling it The Goddamn Particle--they couldn’t figure it out. We are learning so much and realizing we know so little—and being cool about it all. Meanwhile, people, individually and as communities, continue to make a difference and are agents of change, whether it be revolutionary or quiet and gradual. Sometimes, the changes we experience are horrendous; other times, they are nothing short of miraculous. In both instances, even if it seems we’re moving backward, we’re actually moving forward because I truly believe change happens when it is needed. A lot like shutting down to power up.


Dot: In connection with these changes, how do you take care of yourself?

Rhodora: I listen to my body, my heart, my mind. I listen to others. I look and listen as much as I can to what’s happening around me and beyond me. I think things through. I keep reminding myself that I could and should be better than what I currently am. I take time for myself. I make time for others. I take risks. I fail and rise back up again. I believe in the rule of science and faith: There is a reason for everything; we just don’t grasp it most of the time. I refuse to be connected to any gadget such that its absence sends me into panic mode. I pray. I get involved in silly stuff. Once in a while, I try not to think too much and simply jump off a cliff, believing I shall survive. Once in a while, I also imbibe alcohol for its medicinal value. (Cue laughter of friends and family who know how much medicinal alcohol I can take in one sitting.)

Dot: What legacy would you like to leave the world and how can you be reached by people who wish to connect with you?

Rhodora: I’d like to leave at least one other person who genuinely cares about children and our fragile planet—and will do something about it for the rest of his or her life. Visit our website woodsandbooks.com and like us on Facebook. Leave me a message if you’d like to hear from me directly. (Thank you for giving me this opportunity to reexamine myself and realize I have much to be thankful for.)


Dot: Do you have any encouragement for your family and friends?

Rhodora: Be not afraid. Believe. Don’t just ask why. Shout: Why the hell not?